LOVE SO STRONG
by Mab-chan
Summary: Tifa breaks down while remembering Aeris's death. SECOND CHAPTER ADDED! 2.27.01
1. LOVE SO STRONG

LOVE SO STRONG

AUTHOR: Kumquat

EMAIL: star408@hotmail.com

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any ofthe FF7 characters, and I'm not making any money off this fic. Please don't sure me, I have no money whatsoever! ^_^;;;

LOVE SO STRONG

"I knew they were in love. It was perfectly clear, to me. I don't think either of the really realized it. But I could tell." Her voice was shaky, and her shoulders shivered slightly in the dark room.

"He was my only love. The only one I would ever, _could_ ever love. But he didn't love me. He loved her." Her wine colored eyes were filled with sadness, and a single, glittering tear slid down one cheek.

"She was my best friend. I would never have done a thing to hurt her…not on purpose…but _she _hurt _me_. I swear, she knew I loved him. She _knew_! But…she loved him too…I can't blame her. I can't. I would have done the same." The tears continued to flow, though she fought with all her might to hold them in.

"They were so cute together. How could I possibly come between something so clearly meant to be?" A bitter laugh. "How could I?"

"When I saw her fall, I felt like a part of myself had been torn from me. He ran to her side, held her, and all I could do was stand there….staring…I know they all thought I would move in on him now. Now that _she _was out of the way. But…I'm not the bitch they all think I am…I loved Aeris too. She was everything to me…the only one who _really_ cared. Who was _really_ my friend." She shrank back as a cold, pale hand touched her shoulder.

"She was always there for me. For us all. She shouldn't have been the one to die. It should have been me…" Her sad eyes darted around the dark room, on the verge of panic. "It should have been me…_me_! I should have died! They should be together right now! They should!" A sob escaped her pale lips.

"I want to comfort him…but I'll lose control. And I refuse to do that. I refuse to let myself go…I'll never take Aeris's place…ever…" She crumpled into a ball, almost too fast for him to catch her. He drew her into his strong arms and held her, soothing her, as she whispered the same thing over and over to herself. 

"It should have been me….it should have been me…Vincent, it should have been me…"


	2. WORTH THE PAIN

NOTE: Ok, people wanted my to write a sequal…so here it is. Sorry all my stuff is so short. ^^;;; Am I being to vague and ending at bad times? Let me know if I am…Well, there might be more to this story, we'll see! ^_~

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy VII characters, they all belong to Squaresoft, and I'm not making any money off this fic. So there!

WORTH THE PAIN

** **

She watched him from her window, her form hidden in the darkness of her room. He walked across the grass to the top of the small hill behind the inn they were currently staying at. Sitting down on the grass, he looked up at the moon, hugging one of his legs to his chest, the other stretched out in front of him, his blonde hair look an eerie green in the moonlight. There he sat, as he did every night. 

She watched him with her wine coloured eyes, the pain evident in them. 

"You always go out there, Cloud." She whispered to herself. "I've watched you...Do you see her? Talk to her?"

Outside, Cloud bowed his head. Tears unseen by Tifa flowed down his cheeks, as they did every time. It was the same ritual over and over again. Tifa cried also. She did that a lot these days. Aeris's absence hit her hard, and a heavy depression had come over her normally happy character. She was in pain, as was Cloud, which pained her even more. She hated seeing him suffer.

"You should go to him." Came a dull voice from behind her. She gasped a whirled around, peering into the darkness of her room, barely able to make out the form of Vincent Valentine standing by the door. His figure loomed in the darkness, and it frightened her. None of them knew much about this Vincent guy. But she trusted him. He had been there for her when no one else was. 

"I didn't hear you knock…" her voice came out shaky. Vincent took a few steps toward her.

"That's because I didn't." he said bluntly. Tifa was slightly taken back by that remark, and wasn't quite sure how she should respond, so she turned back to the window and Cloud. He hadn't moved. She heard Vincent approach her from behind, and then he was there, standing next to her in the darkness, his red eyes following her gaze towards Cloud. 

They stood in silence, for what seemed like an eternity to Tifa. She felt like she should break the silence, but didn't know how. Finally, he reached out a hand and placed it on the cold glass. 

"He's right there…" she began in a soft voice, almost a whisper. She moved her fingers lightly over Cloud's image. "It's like I could just reach out and touch him, if it weren't for the glass…It's always been like that." She paused, blinking as her vision blurred.

"He's always been right there in front of me, _just_ out of reach. There's always been something blocking him, closing him off from me."

Suddenly, Vincent raised his own hand and placed it on Tifa's. I was surprisingly warm, Tifa had always thought that everything about Vincent was cold. He laced his fingers through her own, clasping her hand from behind.

"I hate seeing you like this." He said. Neither of them looked at each other, only stared through the glass at Cloud. "You should go to him, comfort him. He needs a friend." Vincent turned to her.

"Just like you do."

Tifa remained where she was standing for a long time, thinking. A friend. He needed a friend. Tifa was Cloud's friend. She Could comfort him – she had every right. Friends comfort friends in pain, they were both in pain. The could comfort each other.

She turned and smiled at Vincent, her teary eyes shining. Removing her hand from the glass, she turned it around and gave Vincent's hand a squeeze.

"You're right." She said. "He shouldn't have to go through this alone. I'm going to be there for him."

With that, Tifa spun around, letting go of Vincent's hand and hurried out the door, leaving Vincent standing by the window alone.

* * *

Vincent stood watching Could and Tifa for a long time. Tifa approached Cloud slowly, unsure. Vincent prayed she wouldn't turn back, and was surprised when she turned looking directly at him, and smiled. He nodded, reassuring her, though he was quite positive she couldn't see him. 

Cloud gave a start when Tifa put a hand on his shoulder, speaking softly to him, but in a short amount of time, they were in each other's arms, comforting each other.

Vincent turned away from the window, suddenly, and shut his eyes tight. He couldn't watch anymore. A stinging in his eyes made him scold himself. 

"They need each other." He said to the empty room. "They belong together. It's the right thing to do…" He glanced back at them.

"It's worth the pain."


End file.
